Hitler’s British Nephew Enlisted In America To Fight His Uncle

In A Nutshell

If politics makes strange bedfellows, the circumstances of feuding politics in war are much stranger. Adolf Hitler had a nephew named William Patrick Hitler, who was born in the UK to Hitler’s half-brother and an Irish woman. William Hitler moved to Germany prior to World War II to take advantage of his Chancellor uncle’s connections for work. But when Adolf refused to dote on him anymore, he defected to the UK and ultimately the US, where he joined the US Navy and spoke further against his uncle.

The Whole Bushel

Adolf Hitler’s family was a little more spread out than one might like to have thought. Prior to Germany’s assault on British territory, Hitler’s spoiled, British-born nephew William Patrick Hitler was living in Germany after moving from his birthplace to seek career opportunities.

William continued his modus operandi of using his connection to Adolf Hitler as a means of attempting to gain special access to privileged employment positions. Hitler greatly resented this, and began calling William his “loathsome nephew,” publicly shaming him for attempting to ride on his uncle’s success instead of his own merit. Completely frustrated and disillusioned with his ultimately murderous uncle’s uncharacteristic show of principle, William returned to Britain, where he was refused entry into the armed forces.

Hitler then traveled to the United States, where he openly bashed Adolf in a bid to get back at him. Sponsored by Randolph Hearst, William initiated a tour titled “My Uncle Adolf.” His antics also included “threatening to document and release Uncle Adolph’s “Jewish Ancestry,” and he eventually “nearly begged” the United States to let him into the armed forces. Finally, after FBI approval initiated by President Roosevelt, the feuding dissident gained a medical position with the US Navy.

He later changed his name and moved his family to start a new, quieter life in New York. His family managed to remain hidden until after his death.